Corporation of the District of Maple Ridge and the City of Pitt Meadows MAPLE RIDGE/PITT MEADOWS MUNICIPAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows Municipal Advisory Committee on Accessibility Issues, held in the Blaney Room at Maple Ridge Municipal Hall, 11995 Haney Place, Maple Ridge, British Columbia, on Thursday, at 5:00 p.m. COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT Councillor Al Hogarth Councillor Andrew Tolchard Maria Kovacs Manfred Wuensche Greg Turnbull Tyler Ducharme Linda Marconato Don Thorogood Ed (Chum) Richardson John (Jack) Hughes STAFF PRESENT Petra Rutten Tracy Camire Council Liaison, District of Maple Ridge Council Liaison, District of Pitt Meadows Community Living British Columbia Community At Large, Maple Ridge Community at Large, District of Pitt Meadows Community at Large, District of Pitt Meadows Staff Liaison Committee Clerk REGRETS/ ABSENT Heather McCain Lyn Taylor-Scott Ridge Meadows Association for Community Living Maureen Wilkinson Fraser Health Kathy Marshall School Trustee, School District No. 42 Barb Moniuk Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance 1. Call to Order and Introductions There being a quorum present, the Chair called the meeting to order at 5:07 p.m. and introductions were made. The new committee clerk was introduced. 2. Adoption of the Agenda R07-2 7 It was moved and seconded That the Agenda for be adopted. CARRIED Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows Municipal Advisory Committee on Accessibility Issues Page 1 of 5
3. Minutes of the Regular Meeting R07-2 8 It was moved and seconded That the Minutes of the, April 19, 2007 Regular Meeting be adopted. CARRIED 4. Delegations and Presentations - Nil 5. New Business 5.1 Fourth Annual 2007 Accessibility Awards P. Rutten Petra Rutten advised the committee that the Accessibility Awards will be on Monday, May 28 th, 2007 between 6:30-7:30 pm at the Pitt Meadows Family Recreation Centre. Greg Turnball and Councillor Tolchard volunteered to be the MC s for this ceremony. It was advised that there are six nominations for the Customer Service category. It was suggested that the committee contact the media to bring awareness to the community to generate more nominations for the other categories next year. Greg Turnball suggested that a member from the committee meet Councillor Hogarth at Magnolia Gate to view this property so that a builder can be nominated and therefore more builders will be motivated to become accessible. It was also suggested that the McDonald s in Pitt Meadows has made their entrances more accessible. Petra Rutten reviewed the nominations with the committee. Current Nominations: 1. WestCoast express Train 2. Jysk Pitt Meadows 3. Dr. David Loff EastRidge Animal Hospital 4. Hamadas Restaurant 5. Extra Foods 6. Phil - Town Square Cobbler 7. Magnolia Gate Ming Lian Contractors (Frank Gu) 8. McDonald s Pitt Meadows 9. Maple Ridge Leisure Centre Petra Rutten advised that she was hesitant to make a presentation to the Leisure Centre as it could be seen as a conflict of interest. Petra asked Greg to contact the nominees (along with the people who nominated them) and invite them to the ceremony along with compiling a short presentation for each nomination. John (Jack) Hughes left the meeting at 5:42 pm 5.2 Abbotsford Accessibility Forum M. Wuensche Page 2 of 5
Manfred Wuensche advised the committee about the Abbotsford Accessibility Forum that was held on May 16, 2007. This is a pilot committee with a cross representation to hear success stories along with current issues and goals that people in the community want to work on. The committee would like to see this put on the 2008 Business Plan as an objective for the committee. It was suggested that buildings that have gone out of the way to make their business fully accessible should receive a plaque as representation. Councillor Hogarth suggested that there be representation from seniors (possibly from ECRA). 5.3 Access Transit (Final Meeting summary) P. Rutten Heather McCain and Petra Rutten attended the TransLink forum at the Hilton in Metrotown. Petra advised that they looked at three main categories: 1. Provide Better Customer Support 2. Improve Access to Full Range of Transit Services 3. Increase the Availability of Custom Transit Petra reviewed the main findings and recommendations from each of these categories with the committee. All the findings have to go before the TransLink board prior to June and then will become public knowledge. There is an action plan to review findings again after these recommendations have been adopted. Councillor Hogarth advised that it is important to put in writing a letter to go to Council that is then forwarded on to TransLink showing the short fallings and what our citizen s concerns are. It was also suggested that the Staff Liaison s position is an important role and needs to be identified to TransLink. Tyler Ducharme reviewed Heather McCain s notes from the TransLink forum. Councillor Tolchard left the meeting at 6:26pm. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 6.1 Follow up Parking Bylaws A. Hogarth This will be continued to next month s meeting. Petra will forward the information on to Councillor Hogarth 7. COMMITTEE REPORTS 7.1 Awards Sub-committee 7.2 Curb Cut Sub-committee Page 3 of 5
Councillor Hogarth asked for any feedback in regards to the curb cutting that has taken place on 224 th. Don Thorogood mentioned that he has had positive feedback from people in the community. Don Thorogood asked to put something in the minutes to remind members of the committee that by August any recommendations for ideas for 2008 curb cuts are to be forwarded on to Don please bring this to next month s meeting. 7.3 Outdoor Accessibility Sub-committee This committee is meeting on a regular basis and has met with the Maple Ridge Planning department and the next meeting will be with the Pitt Meadows Planning and Engineering departments. At this point the committee is getting the ground work done. 8. CORRESPONDENCE 8.1 TransLink - New Bus Loop Maps Greg Turnball advised that the lane is not well marked at this time and he would like to see that it marked more visibly. Petra reviewed the new bus loop map with Maria Kovacs. 8.2 Rick Hansen Wheels in Motion Registration Forms Councillor Tolchard advised that he is looking for volunteers for Pitt Meadows Day for the parade as well as the table at the hall on Saturday, June 2 nd. There will be a float in the parade and volunteers will be needed to help those on wheels. 8.3 Purina Walk for the Dog Guides is on Sunday, June 3 rd, 1:00pm Pitt Meadows Airport - www.walkfordogguides.com 8.4 2006 Citizens Report 9. Next Meeting The next meeting will be held on Thursday, June 21, 2007 at 5:00 p.m. in the Blaney Room, Maple Ridge Municipal Hall, with an agenda deadline of Wed, June 6, 2007. 10. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 6:40 p.m. Page 4 of 5
Chairperson /tc Page 5 of 5